Ohio's Boehner Blames Democrats For Pork: Another Republican Sees Bush Inaction

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Republican South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint released a Congressional Research Service legal memo that contends the White House can easily eliminate billions in pork barrel spending projects. The memo says the money was not appropriated correctly, and thus President Bush is under no obligation to spend a dime. In fact, the memo portrays the President as part of the problem.

Congress sent the White House a $500 billion plus spending bill last week. Ohio's John Boehner, R-8, the House Minority Leader, said the budget bill was "bloated" with wasteful projects. Boehner is pushing for earmark reforms that would expose pork barrel projects. On Dec. 21 he said:

"To shine the brightest spotlight on wasteful pork spending in Washington, I have introduced a petition in Congress to bring about transparency and accountability to the earmarking process by requiring every single earmark to be publicly disclosed and subject to challenge on the House floor. We need 218 signatures on the petition to force a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives and to date, 197 lawmakers have signed. I hope that my colleagues who have not signed this petition will join us in the fight to clearly tell the American taxpayers how we're spending their money."

Boehner wants Congress, which is now controlled by Democrats, to change its wasteful ways. He says nothing about the White House. DeMint wants more action from Bush and makes it clear the President already "has the tools he needs to stop wasteful earmarks." The conservative South Carolina senator released a Dec. 18, 2007 CRS memorandum that contends many earmarks are not binding and can be ignored if Bush would issue an executive order. The CRS said:

"Based on our review of the relevant constitutional provision, statutes and applicable case law it appears that the President possesses the necessary legal and constitutional authority to issue such an executive order. That said, the issuance of an executive order appears to be a discretionary act whose issuance is solely vested with the President of the United States. With respect to your second question, it appears that because the language of committee reports [earmarks] do not meet the procedural requirements of Article I of the Constitution -- specifically, bicameralism and presentment -- they are not laws, therefore, and are not binding on executive agencies."

Ohio's John Boehner: A Strange Blog Appears Under His Name

CINCINNATI, Ohio (TDB) -- Somebody seems to have created a blog this month that trades off Republican John Boehner's name as a vehicle to sell advertising on the Internet. At most, the House Minority Leader who represents Ohio's 8th Congressional District appears to be nothing more than a high-profile prop whose sole purpose is to attract hits to the site. It works by coupling Boehner's name to a mere snippet taken from a legitimate news article. Sometimes the paired combination is so pared down it makes little sense.

This entry appeared earlier in the month and is fairly typical:

"Tuesday, October 16, 2007 6:21 AM GMT
Nine-term lawmaker says this is his last
Marjorie told me about this - "House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, said Hobson will be missed, noting that he and Hobson both came to Congress in 1991. ..."
Read More
Posted by Barbara Osborne from Mesquite, TX
0 Comments"

That's everything except the ads on the page. Of course, Boehner holds a high position and snags the search engines, so the blog gets traffic. Is this a form of reverse spam? Is there even a name for the practice?

Ohio's Boehner v. McDermott: Eavesdropping Battle Hits Supreme Court

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- This NPR story from earlier in the year suggests the protracted court battle had reached its final chapter. But Washington State Democrat Jim McDermott says he hasn't surrendered. He is now asking the Supreme Court to overturn the decision that gave a legal victory to House Minority Leader John Boehner. Boehner's phone call was illegally taped in 1996 and involved discussions about then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich's ethics problems.

McDermott has this to say about his filing in the Supreme Court. There is no guarantee the justices will take the case. Lower courts have awarded Boehner, a Republican who represents Ohio's 8th Congressional District, $60,000 in damages and legal fees, which are said to be in the range of $500,000, perhaps more.